In a campaign to rally support for President Donald Trumps tax reform law, Vice President Mike Pence hit the road promoting the legislation, delivering remarks on 'the positive impact of the policies on working Americans and businesses. (Jan.31)
AP

President Donald Trump touted his accomplishments in his first year of office as he spoke to a crowd of workers in Pennsylvania. He spoke at the H&K Equipment Company to push the benefits of the tax cuts he signed into law before Christmas. (Jan. 18)
AP

New York state will take Washington to court to challenge the new Republican tax overhaul, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday, calling the new law an unconstitutional assault on states' rights and New York in particular. (Jan. 3)
AP

President Donald Trump paid a post-Christmas visit to firefighters in West Palm Beach, Florida. Greeting the first responders he touted his legislative accomplishments, including the GOP tax bill, also saying the country's "doing well." (Dec. 27)
AP

President Donald Trump said the tax legislation he signed today will get a boost in popularity when Americans begin seeing their paychecks rise in February, and he said he thinks Democrats regret not supporting it. (Dec. 22)
AP

The most sweeping tax overhaul in three decades will make big changes to how families pay their taxes. The bill lowers tax rates for all income groups, but caps or eliminates many popular deductions. (Dec. 21)
AP

European and Asian markets have offered a muted reception to the passage of U.S. tax cuts as benefits to company bottom lines were already baked into stock prices, while bonds were spooked by the blowout in government debt needed to fund the giveaways
Newslook

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was finally passed on Wednesday. The bill is unpopular with Democrats and the American people, but AP economic analyst Josh Boak says we might see edits in the coming years. (Dec. 20)
AP

TAX POLICY UNDER DONALD TRUMP
Schumer: Americans have a lot to regret on bill | 1:26

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Americans 'have a lot to regret' on the Republican-led tax bill passed by Congress Wednesday. He made the comments as Republican lawmakers were celebrating the passage of the bill at the White House.
AP

President Trump is celebrating the final passage of the Republican tax bill, calling it a "historic victory for the American people." At a Cabinet meeting, he also applauded the repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate requirement. (Dec. 20)
AP

Republicans in Congress have delivered an epic overhaul of U.S. tax laws to President Donald Trump, bringing generous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, and billions to be added to the national debt. (Dec. 20)
AP

Speaker Paul Ryan is dismissing criticism of the massive tax package the House passed Tuesday. He insists "this is profound change and this is change that is going to put our country on the right path." (Dec. 19)
AP

Jubilant Republicans pushed on early Wednesday to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws in more than three decades. The Senate passed the Republican plan with a final 51-48 vote. The House votes on it again Wednesday. (Dec. 20)
AP

Wall Street fell as excitement over the likelihood of a tax code revamp took a backseat to concern over its impact on monetary policy stimulus and interest rates. Fred Katayama reports.
Video provided by Reuters
Newslook

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the final Republican bill to overhaul the U.S. tax system in three decades, which would slash income taxes for corporates and individuals while widening American budget deficit and income inequality. (Dec. 19)
AP

The White House says the focus of the new tax bill is the middle class, despite questions about whether the president would benefit from it. This comes as the House approved the bill by a mostly party line vote Tuesday. (Dec. 19)
AP

House Republican leaders are expressing excitement as they prepare to pass a $1.5 trillion tax bill. The bill is estimated to give steep tax cuts to businesses and the wealthy, and more modest cuts to middle-income and low-income families. (Dec. 18)
AP

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration is "really proud" of its work with Republican Senator Marco Rubio as it seeks to gain his support for a tax reform bill. (Dec. 14)
AP

AP Reporter Stephen Ohlemacher looks at the details of the tax legislation that's being pushed by President Donald Trump and considered by a conference of House and Senate lawmakers on Capitol Hill. (Dec 13)
AP

House and Senate Democrats protested the tax legislation that is now under consideration in conference, first urging delay until newly-elected Alabama Democratic Senator Doug Jones is seated and then blasting the bill as gift to the wealthy. (Dec. 13)
AP

Looking to counter concerns that the Republican tax plan will primarily benefit the rich, U.S. President Donald Trump is delivering closing arguments in favor of the tax overhaul that is working its way through Congress. (Dec. 13)
AP

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called the tax bill passed by the Senate early Saturday "monumental reform" as he and other Republican leaders continued to celebrate the bill's progress, which was sent to a conference committee Monday evening. (Dec. 5)
AP

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell slammed democrats for their views on the tax plan, and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said the administration is willing to consider a small increase on the corporate tax rate if it is needed to finalize the bill in Congress. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
Video provided by Reuters
Newslook

Republicans pushed a nearly 1.5 trillion US dollars tax bill through the Senate early Saturday as a party starved all year for a big legislative triumph took a giant step towards giving US President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. (Dec. 2)
AP

Ryan Alexander, the president of Taxpayers for Common Sense says the Joint Committee on Taxation has found that the Senate's $1.4 trillion tax bill will increase the deficit by close to a trillion dollars by 2017. (Dec. 1)
AP

Republican and Democratic Senators sparred over the GOP-backed tax reform plan on Thursday night. Republicans are reworking parts of the plan and are considering limiting some tax cuts to keep a handle on the budget deficit. (Dec. 1)
AP

President Trump is calling the latest Republican tax plan 'rocket fuel for the economy,' adding that the new bill would cost him a fortune and has proven unpopular with the wealthy. Trump spoke at an event in St. Charles, Mo. on Wednesday. (Nov. 29)
AP

President Trump arrived on Capitol Hill for a meeting with Senate Republicans to promote his tax plan. He is addressing a Senate GOP luncheon after Democratic leaders pulled out of a meeting later in the day with Trump at the White House. (Nov. 28)
AP

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Republican tax bill is good for small business owners. "Every small business that I can think of is on board for this comprehensive tax reform," he said. (Nov. 28)
AP

Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee, after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, say they are planning a vote this week on their tax overhaul plan. (Nov. 27)
AP

Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the Tax Foundation's 80th annual dinner in Washington, after the House voted Thursday to approve a $1.5 trillion overhaul of the nation's tax code. Pence says "now the ball is in the Senate's court." (Nov. 17)
AP

As Republicans inch closer to delivering tax reform with the House passage of a bill, U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, while still undecided on the Senate version, is urging haste amid the sex scandal enveloping the Alabama Senate race. (Nov. 17)
AP

Republicans and Democrats shouted across each other in a heated Senate Finance committee hearing debating the tax bill overhaul. The Senate version of tax bill was approved and sent to the full Senate after four days of often fierce partisan debate. (Nov. 17)
AP

Republicans rammed a nearly $1.5 trillion package overhauling corporate and personal taxes through the House on Thursday, edging President Donald Trump and the GOP toward their first big legislative triumph. (Nov. 16)
AP

Republicans celebrate before TV cameras after they rammed a near $1.5 trillion package overhauling corporate and personal taxes through the House, edging President Donald Trump and the GOP toward their first big legislative triumph this year. (Nov. 16)
AP

A Senate Finance Committee hearing got heated Wednesday as the committee's chair, Sen. Orrin Harch, defended the decision to include in the tax bill a repeal of the Obamacare requirement for Americans to get health insurance. (Nov. 15)
AP

The No. 2 Senate Republican says the GOP is intent on repealing the individual mandate requirement under 'Obamacare' as part of the tax bill. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters on Tuesday: 'We’re going to repeal the tax on poor Americans.'
Time

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning Republican colleagues in the House not go through with the current GOP tax cut plan, because the same considerations are not being put in on the Senate side.(Nov. 9)
AP

The House's tax-writing committee has begun work on the Republicans' overhaul plan, with the panel's chairman calling it a 'monumental challenge.' Texas Rep. Kevin Brady gaveled in the session on Monday. (Nov. 6)
AP

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blasted the tax bill unveiled by House Republicans as "a terrible assault on opportunity for the middle class" and said her GOP colleagues are "taking American people for suckers." (Nov. 3)
AP

President Donald Trump is planting a kiss on a symbol of the House GOP tax plan. In a meeting with House Republicans, Trump responded enthusiastically when shown two postcard-sized papers some taxpayers would be able to use to file their taxes. (Nov. 2)
AP

U.S. President Donald Trump met with business industry leaders Tuesday to build momentum for his tax overhaul ahead of his lengthy trip to Asia. Trump says he's hoping to sign the tax bill into law by Christmas. (Oct. 31)
AP

House Republicans are planning major changes to the U.S. tax system while looking to preserve current rules for retirement accounts popular with middle-class Americans and to retain a top income-tax rate for million-dollar earners. (Nov. 2)
AP

The White House and congressional leaders released a framework for tax changes, but many key details have been left to tax committees. Here’s how that process is working.
Jeff Dionise, Ramon Padilla, Paul Singer and Herbert Jackson, USA TODAY

The House narrowly passed a GOP budget on Thursday. Speaker Paul Ryan expressed enthusiasm, while Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said it was "drawing a line in the sand" between the middle class and extremely wealthy. (Oct. 26)
AP

White House adviser and presidential daughter Ivanka Trump joined GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to promote an expanded child tax credit proposal as part of the Republican tax overhaul. (Oct. 25)
AP

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and two other key Democrats blasted GOP tax and budget proposals on Capitol Hill, saying most of the cuts will benefit the wealthiest Americans at the expense of children and working families. (Oct. 25)
AP

President Trump says 'tax cuts will restore America's competitive edge' in the world. Trump's comments came during a Tuesday ceremony to recognize 8 winners of the National Minority Enterprise Development Week Awards Program. (Oct. 24)
AP

President Trump took his tax pitch to a conservative think tank on Tuesday, arguing that his plan would be a boon to the economy, boosting growth and jobs. Trump spoke at this year's Heritage Foundation's President's Club meeting in Washington. (Oct. 17)
AP

President Donald Trump pitched his tax plan as a boost for truckers and the middle class at an event in Pennsylvania Wednesday, saying he wants 'lower taxes, bigger paychecks and more jobs for American truckers and American workers.' (Oct. 11)
AP

President Donald Trump made the case Wednesday for a sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's tax system for individuals and corporations, calling it a 'once in a generation' opportunity to cut taxes and create jobs. (Sept. 27)
AP

Pres. Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing a far-reaching, $5 trillion plan that would cut taxes for corporations and potentially for individuals, simplify the tax system and nearly double the standard deduction. (Sept. 27)
AP

President Trump and Republicans are proposing a $5 trillion plan that would cut taxes for corporations and individuals, simplify the code and nearly double the deduction used by most Americans. But questions remain about how much it will cost. (Sept. 27)
AP

The White House and congressional Republicans are finalizing a tax plan that would slash the corporate rate while likely reducing the levy for the wealthiest Americans, with President Donald Trump ready to roll out the policy proposal at midweek.
Time

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Missouri should vote Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill out of office if she does not back his tax cut plan. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
Video provided by Reuters
Newslook

Despite all that trickle-down propaganda, about three-quarters of Americans — and more than half of Republicans — believe that wealthy households and big corporations pay too little in tax.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Republican tax bill signed into law last month contains numerous provisions that will transform the way public and private schools are funded. Because Florida has no income tax, the new legislation will have a unique impact on the state’s education system and the homeowners who fund it. But how the changes manifest in Collier County may be completely different than how they’re felt in other parts of the state. Here’s our breakdown.

Public schools

One significant component of the new tax plan is a $10,000 cap on local property and income tax that can be deducted from federal taxes. The new limit is a major blow to high-income tax states, such as California and New York, and may cause taxpayers in those regions to pressure their legislators to lower taxes. This could be a serious hit to public schools, which are primarily funded by state and local government.

Because Florida has no income tax, the impact to the Sunshine State will likely be more subdued. Twenty-two percent of Florida taxpayers take local and state deductions, claiming an average deduction of $7,373 – a minuscule amount compared with California where taxpayers seek more than double that, as well as New York where residents claim more than triple that, according to an analysis by Education Week, which pulled 2015 data from the IRS.

In Collier County, home to $83 billion worth of taxable property, the school district relies heavily on the 5.122 millage rate it imposes on wealthy homeowners; a cap on property tax deductions could dissuade people from purchasing homes and thus result in a considerable dent to funding.

Of the 56,140 households in Collier County that claimed state and local tax deductions in 2015, taxpayers sought an average deduction of $16,336 — more than double the state average — according to a report from the National Association of Counties, which pulled data from the IRS.

“That’s really high,” said Christopher Westley, an economics professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and the director of the Regional Economic Research Institute. “It sort of makes Collier the California of Florida counties.”

Only properties valued at more than $830,000 would be affected by the $10,000 cap, Westley said. In Collier County about 11 percent of single-family homes, or roughly 10,000, meet or exceed this valuation, according to the Collier property appraiser’s office.

The school district expects total millage proceeds for the 2017-18 fiscal year to reach $436 million, which is nearly half their total annual budget.

Facing an annual loss of thousands of dollars, Collier’s property owners may pressure the School Board to lower the millage rate, thereby shrinking the district’s funding pool. Because taxpayers in the highest income brackets will see a drop in their tax rate from 39 to 37 percent, which would offset their inability to deduct, the pressure will likely come from middle income taxpayers, Westley said.

The National Education Association estimates the deduction cap will result in a $150 billion loss for U.S. public schools over the next 10 years. In Florida, the teachers union estimates public schools will lose more than $2.7 billion and put 3,400 educator jobs at risk.

Florida is already suffering from a major teacher shortage. As of Sept. 1, there were 1,670 teacher openings advertised at Florida public schools, which is an extremely conservative estimate for unfilled teaching positions as many districts, including Miami-Dade, do not advertise their openings.

Just 10 of Collier County’s 56 vacant K-12 teaching positions are advertised online. Like many districts, Collier fills teaching vacancies with long-term substitutes, known as guest teachers. These teachers must have attained an associate’s degree or higher, but are not required to hold a teaching certificate.

“We are in a state that is struggling to keep teachers anyways, and then to have funding cut, that’s going to be a disaster,” said Sharon Nesvig, spokeswoman for the Florida Education Association.

The consequences will be particularly severe, Nesvig noted, considering the volume of students who’ve evacuated to Florida since Hurricane Maria.

According to the Florida Department of Education, more than 8,500 students from Puerto Rico and other areas affected by Maria have enrolled in Florida K-12 public schools, raising concerns about straining already depleted resources. More than 2,200 evacuees have landed at Orange County Public Schools, while 44 have come to Collier.

In the long run, however, the new cap may incentivize taxpayers of high-tax states to make Florida their primary residence, thus increasing Florida’s overall tax base.

Private schools

Families will now be able to draw a maximum of $10,000 per year from their federally tax-exempt college savings accounts, known as 529s, to pay for K-12 private school tuition.

Most states offer income tax credits and deductions for 529 contributions to incentivize people to save for college. With the added flexibility granted to 529 accounts, those states could lose considerable tax revenue as more taxpayers, namely private school families, open 529 accounts to avoid income tax.

But because Florida has no income tax, the state will not be faced with this burden.

Amy Feins, director of college counseling at Seacrest Country Day School, a private school in East Naples, said the changes will make private school more affordable.

“This opens up options for families, and we would definitely benefit from that,” she said.

The benefits will likely only extend to wealthier families. According to the most recent report from the Government Accountability Office, just 3 percent of families used college savings accounts in 2010, and those who did earned roughly three times the median income of families without 529 plans.

Shannon Colavecchio, spokeswoman for Florida Prepaid College Board, which administers the plans, said she only anticipates changes to 529 savings plans and not prepaid programs.

Families hoping to dip into their 529 accounts to pay for private school tuition can do so immediately.

Nonprofits

The new legislation doubles the standard tax deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples. This has caused concern for charities and nonprofits as fewer taxpayers will have incentives to itemize their deductions, thereby eliminating the tax break millions of Americans receive for donating to charity.

Some organizations, such as the United Way, estimate an annual loss of billions in charitable giving.

The effects could be particularly detrimental to Collier nonprofits, which rely on the generosity of wealthy residents.

Susan McManus is the president of Collier’s education foundation Champions for Learning, which offers college and career counseling, supports teachers with classroom grants and provides scholarships for low-income students. She said she was optimistic that donors who are passionate for their cause won’t be deterred by the new regulations.

“Tax incentives are not always the reason people support a mission they care deeply about,” she wrote in an email.

Universities and colleges that rely on charitable contributions for student scholarships and construction projects may also feel the squeeze caused by the increased deductions.

What didn’t pass

Controversial provisions supported by House Republicans that would have significantly increased taxes for graduate students were not included in the Senate’s version of the bill and were ultimately jettisoned from the final tax package.

One such provision, which sparked nationwide protests, would have taxed graduate students’ tuition waivers as income.

Another education-related provision that was left out of the final bill was the House-proposed elimination of a $250 tax deduction for teacher spending on classroom supplies. The Senate version doubled it to $500, but the final version kept the original deduction.